When you’re travelling in Europe it’s important to keep the driving rules and regulations in mind. There are a number of countries that have introduced low emission zones in towns and cities across Europe, including Germany, Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, and Portugal.Low emission zones in France
The Crit’Air vignette is a new emissions sticker scheme which has been introduced for all vehicles registered in France. It will also be compulsory for vehicles registered abroad from 1st April 2017.
What is an Air Quality Certificate?
The Air Quality Certificate or Crit'Air vignette is a round sticker, which must be visibly displayed on the vehicle. There are 6 different types of certificates depending on the vehicle’s emissions. Each certificate type is denoted into 6 different colours Crit Air 1, electric and hydrogen powered vehicles for the cleanest, to black Crit’Air 6 for the older, diesel cars which are the highest polluters.
What is it for?
Air quality certificates allow local and regional authorities to modify their parking and traffic policies in order to encourage the use of the least polluting vehicles and to improve air quality. In Paris*, Grenoble, Lyon, Lille and Strasbourg, the use of the Crit'Air vignette is now compulsory. It could also be compulsory in other French cities and towns in the event of a pollution peak.
How much does the Crit'Air vignette cost?
The price is fixed at 3.70 EUR, plus postal charges. In France, this amounts to 4.18 EUR.
What vehicles are affected by the scheme?
It is for all road vehicles including cars, motorhomes, heavy goods vehicles, buses, coaches, two wheeled vehicles, commercial vehicles, etc. It does not apply to agricultural and construction machinery.
What happens if I do not purchase the vignette?
If you are driving a vehicle in a town or city that requires you to purchase and display a Crit d’Air vignette you can be fined between €68 - €135 (£59 to £117) depending on the category of your vehicle these on the spot fines can be issued by the police for failure to display the emissions vignette.
How long does it take to receive my vignette?
The Crit d’Air vignette should be with you within 30 days after your application. There is a tracking facility on the Crit d’Air website where you can check the progress of your application with your email address, registration number and order number.
Is it just Paris, Lyon and Grenoble?
Currently the only cities which require a vignette are Paris*, Lyon and Grenoble however Lille and Strasbourg have been recently added. As many as 22 other French towns and cities have registered an interested in implementing the scheme over the next three years.
Are motorways exempt?
The A480 in Grenoble, A6 and A7 motorways for Lyon are exempt from this scheme as well as the Boulevard de la Périphérique in Paris. However it would be wise to get a sticker anyway. If there are roadworks/motorway closures and a diversion is in place you may be taken off the motorway into a Low Emission Zone. Failure to display a sticker even in this circumstance would be met with a fine.
Do I have to renew the vignette?
No, your vehicle retains the same environmental classification throughout its lifetime once acquired; the certificate is valid as long as it remains legible.
Where do I buy the vignette?
Vehicle owners can request a vignette from the official website certificat-air.gouv.fr . The page can be translated into English by clicking on the Union Jack flag. You will the need to select the ‘Applying for your certificate’ tab, for vehicles not registered in France, you will need to click on the ‘Foreign Registered Vehicles’ section and complete the form. The form will require you to provide your Car Registration, Date of first registration, VIN number, Make of the vehicle and to upload a copy of the V5C Log book.
(Note that the only formats that are accepted for the documents to be uploaded are: PDF, PNG and JPEG up to a maximum limit of 400kb. If the image that you take is too large then you will need to use an image editor or compression programme in order to reduce the size under 400kb. Converting to a PDF format can also help to reduce the size)
For the vehicle drop down options on the form please note that if you have a motorhome/car & caravan to select the ‘Private Car’ option. The Crit d’Air department will see the type of vehicle that you are driving on the V5C logbook and provide the correct emissions sticker.
The service for ordering the Crit d’Air vignettes for Foreign registered vehicles has been open since the 1st of February 2017.
*Please note that for Paris the emissions zone only applies from the Boulevard de la Périphérique to the centre of Paris. The outer suburbs of Paris are not affected by this scheme.
It has also been noted that some websites (completely unrelated to the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development) are offering the Crit’Air vignette at a price well above the real one.